in-app purchase

40 percent of new Angry Birds buyers doing in-app purchase

SAN FRANCISCO--It's no secret Rovio has made a small fortune off its sales of Angry Birds on the App Store (and other platforms), but there had been some question about the success of its dabbling in the in-app purchase market.

That question was answered this afternoon by Rovio's "mighty eagle" Peter Vesterbacka at the Game Developers Conference here. In a talk outlining the company's efforts to build the Angry Birds franchise beyond its humble beginnings, Vesterbacka announced that 40 percent of new Angry Birds buyers had purchased the 99-cent "mighty eagle" add-on, which … Read more

FTC looking into Apple's in-app purchasing policy

The Federal Trade Commission will review how Apple markets games with in-app purchases, but not for the reason you may think.

Apple introduced a controversial policy for developers last week when it said that it would take a 30 percent cut of revenue generated from subscription publishing apps that included in-app purchases. Apple also said it would only accept apps whose subscription offers through its iOS app are consistent with the lowest price offered by the publisher elsewhere. The U.S. Department of Justice said last week it would take a look at Apple's policy, but stopped short of … Read more

Playing Eliminate Pro can eliminate your money

Popular iPhone gaming developer Ngmoco released Eliminate Pro yesterday, its much-anticipated, online, first-person shooter. This well-polished "free" game features smooth looking graphics, onscreen controls that are fairly effective (no match for a controller or keyboard/mouse setup, but that's to be expected), a number of power ups to improve your weapons and armor, and five playable maps. In-game kills and winning matches earn you credits you can use to buy new weapons and armor. There are eight armor types, five weapon types, and items to buy like armor designs (skins) to give you a new look. The … Read more

Apple OKs in-app purchases for free iPhone apps

Developers of iPhone and iPod Touch applications can now enable purchases from within their freely available App Store applications.

Until now, Apple has permitted in-app sales of content, subscriptions, and digital services only for apps costing at least 99 cents.

Apple on Thursday sent the following e-mail to developers:

Considering all the drama surrounding the App Store approval process, this latest move by Apple appears to be a positive one for iPhone SDK developers, as it gives them a bit more flexibility in how they design and potentially profit from the applications they build.

We'd like to hear from … Read more